One of the few shared passions amongst MPs in the UK is an almost unequivocal affection for American politics. However, Janan Ganesh, a political columnist for The Financial Times, believes that the US political figure who truly defines British political zeitgeist is rarely invoked – that figure being Richard Nixon.

In a piece for today’s edition of The Financial Times, Janan articulates how the current mood of demagogy and populism exuded by Britain’s political class has clear-cut roots in Richard Nixon’s brand of politics – with both the Conservatives and Labour chasing a mass of low- to middle-income voters with tough attitudes on issues such as welfare, immigration and Europe (“the silent majority”, a demographic coined by Nixon himself), and smaller parties such as UKIP exhibiting a Nixonian contempt for elites.